Austrian MotoGP: FIM Stewards penalise Zarco for Morbidelli incident
Having summon🔴ed Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidell🤡i to a hearing on Thursday, and reviewed all available video evidence, the FIM MotoGP Stewards have penalised the Avintia rider.
The Stewards - Bill Cumbow, Freddie Spencer and Ralph Bo🐼hnhorst - determined that: 'There was evidence of irresponsible riding from Johann Zarco, which has resulted in a penalty.
'The Frenchman will start his nex💮t MotoGP race from p🍌itlane.'
The official judgement is as follows:
Motive
Having summoned Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli to a hearing on Thursday, and reviewed all available video evidence, the FIM 🐈MotoGP Stewards have penalised the Avintia rider.
The Steward🔜s - Bill Cumbow, Freddie Spencer and Ralphཧ Bohnhorst - determined that: 'There was evidence of irresponsible riding from Johann Zarco, which has resulted in a penalty.
'The Frenchman will start his next MotoGP race fꦍrom pitlane.'
The official judgement is as follows:
Motive
'On the 16 August 2020 at 14:12 during the MotoGP race at the MyWorld MOTORRAD GRAND PRIX VON OSTERREICH, at Turn 2 you were found to be riding in an irresponsible manner causing a crash.
'This contravenes article 1.21 of the FIM World Championship Grand Prix regulations "Riders must ride in a responsible manner which does not cause danger to other competitors or participants, either on the track or in pit lane."
Sanction
'For the above reasons and taking into account the seriousness of the offence, the MotoGP Stewards Panel has issued you a penalty to start from the pit lane for your next [race].'
The inci⛎dent between Zarco and Morbidelli occ💯urred on lap 9 of Sunday's race, when Zarco made an inside pass on Morbidelli for eighth place as they entered the 300km/h Turn 2 left-hand kink.
However the pair then tangled on the exit, Morbidelli hitting the rear of Zarco's bike as he drifted across under braking for T🍎🐻urn 3.
The shocking consequence was that Morbidelli's fallen machine narrowly avoided wiping out Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales at the sharp Turn 3 right-hander, where&𝔉nbsp;Zarco's broken Ducati also flew over Vinales.
The Avintia team said data showed Zarco🐻 braked later on the exit of Turn 2 than at any time in the race.
However on Thursday, Morbidelli, who apologised for calling Zarco a 'half-assassin' on Italian TV last Sunday, countered that: "Presenting the fact that he braked two metres later means nothing because the approach to the corner was wrong, the o♏vertaking manoeuvre was wrong and the exiting line was wrong."
Zarco insisted he was not especially wide and TV image🃏s suggested a sweeping line on the exit of Turn 2 was his normal trajectory.
But T𝓀urn 2 on lap 9 was not a 'normal' situation, in the sense that Zarco had only just overtaken Morbidelli and would have known thඣe Italian was close to him, on the outside.
The question 💝to be judged by the FIM Stewards – after analysing video evidence and speaking separately to each rider on Thursday afternoon - was therefore whether Zarco had given Morbidelli reasonable room or, as claimed by Valentino Rossi, swooped across in front of the #21 and 'braked in his face'.
One of the most terrifying crashes we've EVER seen!!!
— MotoGP (@MotoGP)
Watch the Turn 3 accident from all angles!
"By moving 𒉰quickly to the right and braking 'in the face' of Franco, he [Zarco] did not give him space to slow down, so Morbidelli couldn't do anything but hit him at full speed," 🌠Rossi wrote on Instagram.
"I e𒉰xplained everything [to the Stewards] and we even had good proo💞f with the data," Zarco said on Thursday evening. "From my opinion, there should not be any penalties because I didn't do anything crazy. but let's see what the decision is…"
Zarco underwent surgery for a fr💫actured scaphoid bone in his right wrist, caused by the accident, on Wednesday but still hopes to ride on Saturday. Morbidelli escaped serious injury and is fit to compete this weekend.
The tyre wall at Turn 3 has been extended for this weekend, to try and aꦬvoid a repeat of fallen bikes crossing the track.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront o🧸f the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
